Hull City vs Chelsea FC - Phelan claims terms of his Hull contract keep changing

Posted Friday, September 30, 2016 by PA

Hull caretaker boss Mike Phelan claims the terms of his contract keep changing as he appears no nearer to becoming the club's permanent manager.

Phelan will take charge of his seventh Barclays Premier League match on a temporary basis against Chelsea at the KCON Stadium on Saturday and continues to thrash out a deal to replace Steve Bruce.

The Tigers' owners, still in protracted takeover talks with several separate consortiums despite announcing they hoped to complete the sale of the club during the last international break, first offered Phelan a permanent contract two weeks ago.

"At one point last week I thought I had a deal done," Phelan said. "I mentioned that to you, that it was near enough done and over the line and now it has changed a little bit. So I have to consider the changes.

"My side of things are we're still talking and we'll continue to talk until we can resolve the situation. It's as simple as that.

"What needs to be resolved is the terms of the deal. It keeps changing.

"One minute I think I've got something and the club are happy with it and the next minute it changes.

"So it's just a case of thinking about all these new changes that are on the table and making a decision."

Phelan has the backing of both his players and the fans after the Tigers launched the season with back-to-back wins in the top flight.

He has also steered them into the fourth round of the EFL Cup following victory at Stoke, but three defeats in their last four league games - albeit to Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool - has halted early momentum.

The club refused to comment when approached by Press Association Sport about the latest developments regarding the club's takeover.

Hull will be without suspended defender Ahmed Elmohamady for the clash with the Blues.

Elmohamady serves a one-game ban following his dismissal for handball in last week's 5-1 defeat at Liverpool and David Meyler is vying with James Weir for a place in the starting line-up at right-back.

Strikers Will Keane and Dieumerci Mbokani and midfielder Markus Henriksen are pushing for their first league starts.

Meanwhile, head coach Antonio Conte says there is no magic solution to Chelsea's troubles.

The Blues, champions in 2014-15 and 10th last term, have lost their last two Premier League games, to Liverpool and Arsenal.

Chelsea have one clean sheet in 15 matches in all competitions and two in the last 25 ahead of the trip to Hull, when captain John Terry (ankle) is again absent.

"We haven't got a magic wand to change the situation in two months, three months, four months," Conte said.

"We don't forget the past. The past is there, it's very clear. We finished (in) 10th place last season.

"When you finish 10th, it means you have problems. We must change the situation and we must work hard together and we are doing this.

"At this moment, that's the most important thing: not to win, (or) to lose.

"But to understand that only through great work, hard work, can we fill the gap that now we have."

September passed with Chelsea failing to record a Premier League win. The only success in four games was in the EFL Cup against Leicester.

Conte believes Liverpool, 2-1 winners at Stamford Bridge, and Arsenal, 3-0 winners in last week's derby, are at their best, while Chelsea have room for improvement.

"In these two games we saw, and we learned, a lot of important things," he added.

"We faced two teams who are very strong and, for me, these two teams are now at the top (of their games).

"We have a lot to improve. This is the great difference. This is also the great hope that we must have."

Terry has missed the last three matches with an ankle injury sustained against Swansea and his earliest possible return will be on October 15 against Leicester.

Defender Kurt Zouma continues his rehabilitation from his long-term knee injury, while midfielder John Obi Mikel is out with a "small muscular problem", Conte said.